This chapter is dedicated to tanlines88 for the wonderful support and suggesting the lovely song for this chapter. She is MIA for a while now, but I hope she'll return soon..
Miss you, Cyan. :)

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"I only said she was the last person who saw Tina alive, and then she..." Vivian said in between sobs. "She flipped out and attacked me."

Shoulders shaking, Vivian slumped on a seat in front of the night-shift counselor, who was a bit miffed from the look on her face. Counselor's gaze kept slipping to her iPad on the desk, rubbing the dark roots of her dyed hair. We probably interrupted her Candy Crush achievement tonight.

Lynda sat alone on a leather couch near the adjacent wall, fingers clasped over her knees while tapping her feet on the floor. Her worried glances travelled between my stooping posture, and the drama queen whimpering at the counselor's desk.

"Is this true, Ms. Summer?" The counselor glared at me, lips tight in annoyance.

Standing in the corner of the room, five feet away, facing the phony serpent, my breath was shallow as I tried to wrap my head around what had happened. My limbs were floppy, and holding myself up was an effort. For some reason, the idea reminded me of Mr. Tortilla Head from Toy Story 3. That was a funny one, I almost chuckled. My body could be flattened enough to slide from under the door.

There was a weird tingle in my scalp, and my brain didn't seem to function properly. I shifted my weight on my dead feet, trying to unstick my dry lips with my tongue. The adrenaline rush I'd experienced earlier was wearing off after the previous fit of hostility, leaving my body floating in a muddy numbness that seeped into my mind. I was aware of my surroundings, but things looked unreal, like a two dimensional world, foggy at the edges.

God, what have I done?!

"I..." I wheezed, clutching at my elbows like an anchor. " I didn't want to. She provoked me."

Vivian lifted up her teary face toward the counselor and defended. "I just wanted to help."

"Help?" I exclaimed, my voice choking. "She stole my money!"

The counselor straightened on her leather seat, forehead puckered. She steepled her hands on the desk and corrected. "You mean, you lost your money. Don't throw accusations."

"How would I know she was stashing money in the room? It's against the rules. We're supposed to bank our savings." Vivian waved her hand, pulling off a pained look. "Why do you want to hang it on me, Melody? What did I ever do to you?"

Brilliant acting! I'm disgustingly impressed!

Vivian's teary face was heartbreaking. It would deceive anyone who didn't have the pleasure of knowing her. I could swear her face changed for a second. All I could see at this moment was ophidian fangs and a split tongue sticking out to my face. The image was so vivid it sent a chill down my spine.

"What time did this happen?" the counselor asked me.

"I-I'm not sure... but it was gone this morning." I gulped, my mouth a barren Sahara. I hadn't checked for over a week.

"I see. So, why are you accusing Ms. Zimmer specifically? Why not anyone else? " The counselor propped her elbows on the desk, resting her chin on her interlocked fingers, staring at me with dull eyes.

"She's been bullying me for months," I admitted, my voice wavering uncontrollably. "I can't think of anyone else."

"Me?!" Vivian gasped and brought her hand to her mouth, eyes as wide as she could manage. "You attacked me twice in forty-eight hours!"

She turned to gawk at the counselor, a stunned look glazing her wet eyes. "I cared for Melody! She looked unhappy and it broke my heart. She reminds me of Tina, may she rest in peace." Vivian sniffed, shaking her dirty blonde head wistfully. "I was worried she's been on drugs too. She didn't seem normal."

Is this her plan? Turning the tables on me?

Lynda interrupted for the first time, holding her hand up. "Excuse me, ma'am. I don't think Melody's doing drugs. I've seen how people on drugs are like."

Counselor motioned to Lynda. "It's OK, Miss...?"

"Lynda... Moreno," Lynda stated, taking off her glasses to wipe them with her shirt.

"It's OK, Miss Moreno. We don't throw accusations here."

Puzzled, I glared at my new roommate for a moment, then I averted my face. I didn't want to see this innocent facade transforming to a terrifying Gorgon as well. My stomach groaned and the idea of throwing up wasn't too far out. I had no clue why Lynda was doing this. My brain was melting through my ears. My senses were too lame to comprehend anything anymore.

"But s-she threatened me. She stalked me. She--" I trailed off. I couldn't be completely honest and bring up what Vivian had stuffed in my mattress. I was pretty sure she'd use my words against me. The trap was getting tighter.

"There's no evidence, Ms. Summer. Can you prove it?" The counselor said.

"Yeah! Yeah... I have a note. She left a note." I sucked in a sharp intake of air. " And, uh! There's a text." My chest tightened and I suddenly had this sinking feeling in my guts that it was a stupid idea.

Counselor puffed and scratched her chin. "A note?"

My muddled head was buzzing, It took me a few minutes to find my doughy hand, locate my jeans pocket, and dig out the note I'd kept with me this morning. I inched to the desk, steps faltering. I panted as if I was running a mile, and handed the note to the lady in charge.

She took the folded paper from me, put on her reading glasses, and studied the words. She smiled faintly and shook her head. "Sorry. This means nothing. You could've written it yourself." She crumpled the paper and tossed it in the pin next to her desk.

"No! I didn't. I swear. I found it under the mattress, and... I found the shirt she stole from me. And--"

"What shirt now?" Counselor couldn't hide her sarcastic tone that matched her eye-rolling.

"She stole it from my locker... and she sent me this text to scare me. I'm not making this up. " I realized I was wringing my hands, and I wasn't making any sense, even to myself.

This isn't working! This isn't working!

"Is that why you gave me the shirt?" Vivian slammed her hands onto her chest. "Oh, God, you wanted to set me up? I thought you wanted to be friends. Why do you hate me so much? I always try to help you." Vivian collapsed her upper body on the edge of the desk, hiding her face in her arms and wailing. "This is just too much. I can't take it anymore."

At this point, my self-preservation flopped and I staggered. The witch rendered me speechless.

Ok! I give up... Why am I even defending myself? It's over!

A chunk of stone blocked my ability to talk. I wished I had the strength to scream, fight, run or even applaud for the genius performance. But it didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered. I was doomed.

It's over, Melody... It's over... It's over.

The two-dimensional world began to warp into a blurry double-vision. My eyes were sick of watching this farce, they were now playing silly games on me. The walls were bending, the lights were dancing, and the world began to lose its luster. For a second, I could empathize with my cellphone when its battery was at 1%. My battery was the lowest It had ever been. I was about to shut down.

It had been a lifetime in three days of stress and sleep deprivation. I couldn't make it like this.

Withdrawing mentally, I zoned out, trying to figure out a way in my head to pretend none of it was real. I wanted to fall into a coma, wake up from this nightmare and find everything had been erased, starting with Tina's death.

"Ms. Summer. We can't overlook this attitude any more. Your violent behavior doesn't correspond with the rules of the shelter. I'll have to discharge you from this program. You'll have to find another place to stay within a week's time. I'll inform the security to check the cameras, to see who's been to your room in the past week, but I can't promise anything. It is not our responsibility since you didn't abide by the rules," the counselor went on, grabbing a pen and paper.

Shutting off everyone's faces, I stared blankly at the counselor as she mentioned something about not calling the police over this, because the shelter had a reputation to maintain. I stared blankly as she wrote something on a white paper and handed it to me. I stared blankly as she waved her hand to send us away.

A hand tugged at my arm and I recognized Lynda, leading me out of the room. I thought she talked to me. Her lips moved and a gentle expression painted her face, but I shut her out. Why would I need to listen? All I heard was an unintelligible hum.

Another wicked voice whispered inside my ear, somewhere between downstairs and upstairs.

"Told you, third time's a charm."

It could've been my sore brain still playing games on me. But No. It was the demon. The one with a pretty face and venomous mind.

Like a programmed robot, I got into the room. I went straight to my locker, pulled my duffle bag, and mechanically began to pack everything. A week was too long a wait. The result wouldn't change anything, so why bother? Nothing mattered. Nothing. Nothing...

A week wouldn't give me back my money. It wouldn't save me from the street. It wouldn't bring back Akram, or Asha or even Tina. I was alone again, and I had to deal with it.

Even though it was August, the world outside of the shelter was cold. A different kind of cold. The kind that would freeze your soul with its mountains of concrete, metal, glass, and neglect. It would frost your tears and numb your brain. The cold that would pierce you from the inside out. The weather had nothing to do with it.

Aimlessly, I walked , and stumbled, and walked, and stumbled through the jungle of lights. It was late, but the sense of time and place eluded me. New York had never been so hard to grasp. I'd never been lost before, but this time, after an indefinite hike, I stopped, and looked around. I couldn't recognize this place. The flashing screens and billboards swirled and swirled like a merry-go-round. My head buzzed and I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting the dizziness that swallowed my consciousness.

There was more buzzing coming from elsewhere. It seemed important to pinpoint. I knew I should remember what it was, but my slow brain blocked its significance. I clung to my old duffle bag that contained everything I owned in this world, a bubble of hysteria building up inside of me, increasing my pulse, sucking my breath away, draining my one percent of power.

A single thought nagged at me before I shattered; Akram playing the piano. I could hear it as clear as my own heartbeat.

Akram! I need you!

Through the shallow breathing, the vibrating buzz, and the bleary vision, the ground seemed to fly up to my face. I gasped for air and dropped down on the cruel sidewalk.

****

Surprise, surprise!!

How are you, dear ones? I guess that was a quick update. For me at least, but I'm so thankful I could finish it soon so you could hopefully enjoy reading. It makes me happy when I could make you happy. ;)

Please vote and Comment if you like it and share your thoughts. Your feedback means the world to me.

-Any thought on what would happen?

-Do you think Melody was right to leave immediately?

-Do you think Melody will end up in the streets?

-Any more thoughts on Lynda or Vivian?

Please, let me hear from you all. Silent readers too if possible ;))

Much love

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